Times Up! What are your favorite Looney Tunes?

The Looney Balloons above remind me that today is the deadline for you to contribute your personal lists of favorite Warner Bros. cartoons. This is your chance to influence the outcome of the contents of my forthcoming book, The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes. Please post your choices in the comments below – or in the comments of the original post. Thank you to all who have participated!

Most everyone listed my favorites, but I’m suprised no one mentioned “Fresh Airdale”, which I think is an underrated Chuck Jones masterpeice. It’s funny as hell, and I love the dark ending. Storywise, I think it’s one of the ballsiest cartoon he ever made.

As caricatures of Jimmy Durante would often say in these cartoons, “Am I mortified!” I noticed on posting my list that I spelled the word “title” as “tital”. What can I say–I was tired and in a hurry. I just wanted it known that I can indeed spell when I have my wits about me. The list I posted wasn’t as complete as I would have liked to make it (much of the Freleng and Avery stuff would have occupied positions 26-50) but I thank you, Jerry, for allowing me to make this last-minute post.

Rick

The Avery travelogue that was underwater. I have a vivd memory of that from when I was a kid.

And I don’t remember the name, but I think there was a cartoon about a musical note trying to find its composition, or something like that. It involved a sentient musical note, anyway.

Justin Foley

One of the ones that sticks out in my mind when i was little was the one where Daffy comes to Porky’s house as a traveling salesman selling a home security system that was like a whole wall of buttons. Does anyone know the name of that one?

Gary Conrad

Feed the Kitty.

joe horne

for today, the top five are:
easter yeegs, porky pig’s feat, bugs and thugs, stupor duck and operation: rabbit.

Going back over my top 50, I admit to including a few cartoons I discovered as an adult (e.g. “Porky in Wackyland”), but really did see most of the others as a kid. I regret that I didn’t have time to systematically go over all the series cartoons–it’s pretty hard to distinguish one Roadrunner/Coyote cartoon from another–but I did try to locate the series cartoons that included my favorite gags and put them in my list somewhere. (Most of my research here was on the internet; sorry I haven’t yet bought your Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies book with Will Friedwald!)

Some thoughts on a few of the cartoons here: I was surprised at how good “Plane Daffy” was when I watched it for the first time in years, and pleased to note its presence on many other lists here. Having rediscovered “Hillbilly Hare” a few years ago, I now enjoy it even more than I did as a kid, and am pleased to note its presence etc. Put me down as one of the people who considers “What’s Opera, Doc?” to be overrated, but I do give it points for artistry.

I went back and forth on whether to include “Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs” because its racial stereotypes do hamper my enjoyment of the cartoon. On the other hand, it’s certainly one of Bob Clampett’s key works and he does deserve credit for drawing inspriation from the Afro-American revue “Jump for Joy” (and for hiring several members of its cast).

The second time I saw the cartoon was as part of a set of “politically incorrect cartoons” that you exhibited at the Seattle Film Festival back in 1996 (good grief, was it that long ago?), and in context it was a lot easier to appreciate than the first time I saw it (in a “compared to Disney” series I’d seen a few months earlier). In the end, “Coal Black” is more than a collection of stereotypes, and that “more” is what edged it into my top 50.

The initial request was to cite the GREATEST cartoons… which I’ve tried to do here. While there are many reasons I like the following fifty, and while many of them would also be on a list of my fifty favorites, there’s more reason behind greatness than simple nostalgia, or simple affection for certain characters or types of story lines.
I’ve been working on and off on this list since you announced the project weeks ago, so I’ve even got some reasons for greatness down here… who knew? Also quite a lot of basic blabber. We’ll just start with the one I think is greatestâ€”not necessarily my favorite!â€”and work on down.

1. DUCK AMUCK: In a cartoon, you can do anythingâ€”it’s been established elsewhere. But more clever than just doing anything is to show the *cartoon* doing anything while its *protagonist* objects and tries to fight the system; it’s the difference between basic “out there” humor and truly sharp character comedy.
2. PORKY IN WACKYLAND: Just as important, though, was the establishment *of* “out there” humor, which Warner pioneered one and a half decades earlier. Though somewhat derivative of Lantz’s earlier MARS, this extra-looney tune made the trope Warner’s own.
3. ONE FROGGY EVENING: Quite possibly the greatest pantomime cartoon ever made, with the standard heckler/chump scenario taking on a dimension of human tragedy.
4. A WILD HARE: Though essentially “generic Bugs” compared with later outings, it’s generic only because it perfected the hunter/hunted formula perfectly enough to become a basic template: the one to beat.
5. THE WINDBLOWN HARE: The best of Warner’s fairy tale parodies for me, this one works due to a mix of strong characterization, breakneck pacing (can’t a body get her shawl tied?), and the fact that *multiple* fairy tales come in for the skewering. We did it!
6. FAST AND FURRY-OUS: Intended as a parody, we have the ultimate chase/”hunt with gadgets” cartoon, period; to the point where almost every later pursuer-pursued owed something to it, not least the ensuing Road Runner series.
7. PORKY’S ROMANCE: The most effective use of speed and quick cutting in cartoons, it’s also great for how casually it incorporates adult themes (suicide); there was no question as to whether these cartoons were for kids. They weren’t.
8. A GRUESOME TWOSOME: Rather than just making fun of sex and lust like many similar shorts, this one also includes Clampett’s classic screwball/chump dynamic and Tweety at his nastiest; would that he could always have stayed that way (and his absence from most of the rest of this list shows how uninteresting I think he later became, unfortunately).
9. THE DOVER BOYS: That coward, bully, cad and thief! Pioneering use of modern design in cartoons, plus one of the strongest and loopiest satires ever; you don’t even have to know the source material to laugh at an intense satiric atmosphere that eats everything in its path.
10. COAL BLACK AND DE SEBBEN DWARFS: A fireball combination of personality, pacing, outrageousness, sex appeal, fairy tale parody, and societal satire, this one’s a keeperâ€”diminished only by racial stereotypes that genuinely do hurt, regardless of what “old-fashioned/nostalgic/admiring” white viewers optimistically tell us.
11. BOSKO IN PERSON: Let’s throw out story and even structure, then let two characters dominate the screen through funny personality alone. The start of an extremely important trend at Warner’s, even if future two-character personality studies weren’t of this musical type.
12. THE BLOW-OUT: Wherever you turn, the little guy’s there! I saw him, I tell you! The charm of impossible physics intruding on an otherwise basic story idea was used many times at many studios, but nobody did it like Avery, and Avery started it here (unless there’s an earlier example at Lantz that I’ve forgotten).
13. PORKY’S DUCK HUNT: While not the best screwball hunting picture, it’s Warner’s first, an early high mark for Avery and quite the trend-setter.
14. RABBIT FIRE: First of the classic, extremely influential rabbit season pictures, and the only one in which I find Daffy true to characterâ€”and thus fairly sympatheticâ€”rather than simply malevolent.
15. BOSKO’S PICTURE SHOW: In many ways Warners’ first true spot gag cartoon, with sheer speed and variety pushing through a number of quick, funny tableaus that have very little to do with Bosko. Of course he’s there too, cussing his little head off.
16. RUSSIAN RHAPSODY: The definitive war cartoon, I think, as well as the bestâ€”with raw rage at Hitler channeled into an explosive, vindictive and creative lunacy (the “creative” factor setting it apart from NIPS THE NIPS, which by substituting bog-standard stereotypes for Hitler thus didn’t make the list).
17. BOWERY BUGS: It’s Bugs’ ultimate disguise cartoon, and as such carries on a gag past the point of repetition into a lovable absurdity. Can he top this? Can he top that? Why couldn’t Art Davis have stayed a director? Hey, gorilla!
18. BOOK REVUE: Perhaps Warners’ greatest parody of contemporary culture, with Clampett earning extra points for throwing a strong personality into the mix.
19. RIDE HIM BOSKO: What might have been a basic remake of Disney’s SAGEBRUSH SADIE becomes great when you insert violence so extreme as to serve as self-parody (poor Goopy Geer!)â€”and break the fourth wall in a truly unexpected ending. Pacing helps, too (and if anyone wonders how Bosko finally *did* save the girl, you can find out in BOSKO’S PARLOR PRANKS).
20. THE SCARLET PUMPERNICKEL: The greatest Warner set-piece story, with appropriate roles for everybody. Oy, those prices!
21. CHOW HOUND: Warners’ most sublime study of villainy, with Jones and his writers at their finestâ€”here they knew that a bad person didn’t have to be Hitler or Napoleon to be scary, as long as he was stronger than youâ€”and good at planning ahead.
22. CASE OF THE MISSING HARE: A great milestone, the first coalescence of Jones Bugs in his purest, self-defensive this-means-war form…
23. BULLY FOR BUGS: …and the single best treatment of Jones Bugs, up against a formidable foe and in very genuine danger.
24. BUCCANEER BUNNY: Somehow Sam always worked best for me as a pirate, perhaps because his blowhard personality matched the colorful qualities we associate with piratic behavior. And a pirate ship comes with so many items and settings seemingly created to embarrass the impulsive and vainglorious.
25. LADY PLAY YOUR MANDOLIN: A fox walks into a bar… and all hell breaks loose in a cheerful celebration of general bawdiness. Maybe it’s here just for having the funniest, most perfectly conceived atmosphere of any cartoon up to its time.
26. BUSHY HARE: The Taz character typeâ€”raw, animal fury in its purest formâ€”was a great contribution to cartoon comedy, but one sees it done here better before Taz himself even shows up. “Whad I say? Whad I say?”
27. BEWITCHED BUNNY: We can’t forget the greatness that is Witch Hazel, and this one in particular makes the list for surrounding her with a satiric world that’s almost as loopy as she is. One of the last times Bugs is genuinely scared, tooâ€”and thus functions as a sympathetic personality.
28. WHAT’S OPERA, DOC?: No need to say much about this tour de force that anyone else can’t say; would be higher on the list but for Bugs’ increasingly smarmy, unsympathetic attitude.
29. BIRDS ANONYMOUS: Tweety was boring by this time, but make no mistake: it’s all about Sylvester, in a wonderful study of the addictive personality. Some fanatics actually haven’t forgotten their goal when they redouble their effort.
30. THE DUCKSTERS: The greatest of several hosted radio and TV show parodies, with Daffy and Porky at their strongest and speediest (dig those electric sparks crackling behind Daffy as he zips offscreen!). And did we mention it was violent? Are you threatening me? For if you are, by Gadfrey…
31. BUGS BUNNY GETS THE BOID: Duh, nope, nope, nope. Beaky Buzzard is perhaps the perfect realization of the cartoon bumpkin; no surprise he became very famous very fast at the time, and a pity studio staffers reused him much more often in the comics than in the cartoons.
32. RABBIT’S KIN: And here’s the other great Warner cartoon fool in Pete Puma, who goes for meta in just how twisted his stupidity can be. (Disturbing, too; the idea of a predator costuming as one’s own mother would be nightmare fuel if performed by any other character.)
33. PORKY AT THE CROCADERO: Quite possibly Warner’s most perfect 1930s jazz cartoon, with wonderful personality bits as well as great music and energy. Ladies and gentlemen: schnell means quick!
34. BABY BOTTLENECK: One of several Clampett Daffy triumphs, this turns a fairly conventional plot idea into grounds for some brilliantly insane visual imageryâ€”and Clampett had learned from Tashlin’s pacing and staging by this time, too.
35. BELL HOPPY: A Hippety Hopper cartoon doesn’t land on my list because of Hippety Hopper. It’s here because Hippety is merely the macguffin in a very funny story about Sylvester’s pride and social standing, and it’s rarely been handled with such wonderful timing, energy, or acting (dig Sylvester’s grins to the bandaged gang as he makes himself their leader).
36. TORTOISE WINS BY A HARE: This fallible, frustrated “twerp” isn’t Bugs as I see him, but he’s a legitimate character as Clampett characterizes him here and as most comics creators portrayed him (tellingly, many moving to Western directly from the Clampett unit) through about 1950. Gotta love the effort to interrogate Cecil while in disguise.
37. ROBIN HOOD DAFFY: Perhaps Daffy’s last sympathetic role, and done oh so well. Yoicks and away!
38. BALLOT BOX BUNNY: Why didn’t Warner make political satire a central theme more often? A weak ending is all that keeps this one from rising higher; the spit-take and its lead-up are unforgettable.
39. SCAREDY CAT: Don’t like seeing Porky this oblivious, but you still have to love this wonderfully atmospheric, lovably chilling story. Warners’ very best scary cartoon, beating many others (like JEEPERS CREEPERS) that are too funny to be truly scary.
40. REBEL RABBIT: I like McKimson’s Bugs for his brash, defiant, wronged-man-on-the-street attitude, and you don’t get greater than seeing this man-on-the-street try to make the whole world notice him.
41. HILLBILLY HARE: While breaking no truly new ground or accomplishing anything particularly important, you just can’t beat that square dance. I’d whomp myself with a fencepost if I didn’t include this one.
42. A BEAR FOR PUNISHMENT: The Three Bears were funny already, but the sheer determination with which Junyer and Ma force Father’s Day on “dear old Paw” make a good cartoon both great and borderline psychotic. Though abusive Henry is usually too mean to be sympathetic, you almost feel for him as he experiences the final now-I’ve-seen-everything moments… without a pistol yet!
43. OF RICE AND HEN: Oh, doggy, you’re gonna get your lumps! A basically standard Foghorn situation is made truly great by setting the Dawg battles to a calypso beat just because it’s funny, and by giving Foggy some particularly inspired language when confronting and talking about poor Prissy.
44. BEAU BOSKO: Warners casually proves they can do a slapstick adventure cartoonâ€”then Disney’s stock-in-tradeâ€”as well as, or better, than Disney; pity only that Harman-Ising didn’t do more of them, or that the ensuing Buddy team did so badly at them. This is funny, fast-moving, especially well-drawn stuff, even if not what Warners eventually became really good at. “Good morning, dear Sergeant, we’re glad to see you!” (grimly runs finger across throat) SQUEEEK!
45. THE HASTY HARE: Warners did various cartoons where an upstart turns two allies against each other; but nothing’s funnier than Bugs turning Marvin on K-9 here. Points for a threat that believably has Bugs scared now and then, and for that wonderful planet-gathering ending (even if it’s paced a little slow).
46. THE GREAT PIGGY BANK ROBBERY: Perhaps the best of the truly daffy Daffy, matching his wacky determination with incredibly imaginative antagonists and settings. Scram, Sherlock… I’m working this side of the street!
47. EASTER YEGGS: There are many cartoons where Bugs offers to help someone else in needâ€”but none like this one, where you can sense the trouble coming and Bugs has to face that absolutely horrible little kid.
48. I LOVE TO SINGA: Can’t say I like this one as much as others do, but it’s had decades of influence in the popular perception of 1930s culture. Yeah, it’s great.
49. LITTLE RED RIDING RABBIT: Because Gil Turner’s Big Bad Wolf was an essential contribution to American humor. Regardless of which studio he produced it for.
50. DAFFY DUCK AND THE DINOSAUR: “Duckâ€”The Food Supreme.” True that.

WOW! I’m shocked that I’m not the only one who loves Porky Pig’s Feat– I would rarely see it on TV, but it blew me away every time I saw it. Brilliant and unique staging, and an amazing score which matches the visuals perfectly.

My very favorite Looney Tune is “You Ought to be in Pictures” for a couple of reasons: the meta-ness of the humor (and the behind the scenes peek we might not have had otherwise). Also the line “Fred Astaire never could top this one” followed by Daffy’s insane dance/flail. That’s the Daffy I love.

Bryan

Just one: The Wise Quacking Duck.
Simply perfect.

Dan Varner

“Baby Bottleneck”. Get’s better everytime I see it (which is often).

George

Jerry,

I’m sure you know that what you request of us is no easy task, i don’t envy the position that you’re in having to choose an order to this list.

That being said, I’ll vote for one cartoon, one that I am almost certain will be in the Top 10 at the very least, but should be as close to #1 as possible. It was #36 in the in The 50 Greatest Cartoons, but as far as I’m concerned “Feed the Kitty” trumps “What’s Opera Doc?”

A few other have have expressed the emotional impact of the short, it’s hilarious, sad, and sweet all at the same time. Fitting that much emotion into 7 minutes isn’t easy.

A few have mentioned key scenes, everyone loves the kitty cookie. I’ve seen it elicit completely different reactions from different people.

What I haven’t seen mentioned however, is the formula. A cartoon starring a dog and a cat, but they’re not chasing each other, hurting each other (intentionally at least), or trying to get one another kicked out of the house. Marc Anthony is charmed by a creature that doesn’t fear his outward appearance, or his first impression, and turns into something of a small child sneaking a pet into his home.

The character animation is superb: Marc Anthony’s face while watching Pussyfoot get mixed into batter (heck, Pixar saw the beauty in that scene!), Marc Anthony’s wagging finger, Pussyfoots nonchalant face while being barked at, Pussyfoot’s annoyed face while being made to drive a toy car.

Chuck Jones reached into a reality that both humans and animals share, but sometimes deny. Watch this short with that in mind, it’s enlightening.

Duck Amuck…my very favorite, and the most surreal cartoon ever. The whole idea of an animator interacting live with a character who is also speaking directly to the audience would be unthinkable in lesser hands. The Bugs ending could not be better.

Robin Hood Daffy — This is a close second. The dialog is very sharp (I can’t think of a better use of “Prithee?”) and Daffy is so over the top that Porky can only stand back and smile. The only other thing to say here is, “Yikes and Away!”

Rabbit Fire — Best dialog in any cartoon ever. And the only cartoon ever to have Pronoun Trouble.

Bear for Punishment — Every father’s nightmare. All they want is to be left alone, and people keep trying to make them happy. Dad’s slow burn is priceless. Great characters in this one.

What’s Opera, Doc? — A most beautiful cartoon, and a great way to see most was the Ring Cycle in just a few minutes.

One Froggy Evening — A great cartoon, but one that makes me a bit uncomfortable. It has always been a bit sad for me to see the guy build up his hopes and dreams and then see them smashed by this silly frog. Still, a true classic, as it can not be forgotten.

Hillbilly Hare — “Womp him low and womp him high, stick your finger in his eye.” Not profound, but a darn good time.

Porky in Wacky Land – As silly as they come, and a true anarchist cartoon.

Scarlet Pumpernickel – Daffy having trouble getting over himself. I guess Daffy is probably my favorite recurring character in the WB cartoons.

Duck Dodgers in the 24 and 1/2 Century – This cartoon still seems fresh to me. Some great background designs here. Porky makes a great sidekick. I hope someday the really find that Shaving Cream atom!

Hope I’m not too late! I used the fabled Beck/Friedwald book because often the titles give little clue to the plot of the cartoon. Some of my choices match previous lists but I tried to toss in several others to make things interesting — and because they’re great too!

31) To Hare Is Human – I’ve seen “Operation: Rabbit” on a number of lists, but I prefer this one.
32) The Heckling Hare
33) Bunny Hugged
34) I Love to Singa
35) The Hardship of Miles Standish
36) To Beep or Not to Beep
37) A Tale of Two Kitties
38) Case of the Missing Hare
39) Catch as Cats Can
40) Horton Hatches the Egg

A beautiful cartoon set-up: Father buys little girl duckling which she loves and he grows to hate. Duckling knows he has a good thing going and that father cannot oust him without displeasing the little girl. After duckling enjoys himself by easily antagonizing and defeating father several times, father has inspiration that temporarily defeats duckling and leads to one of the greatest and most insane twist endings in cartoons. Unusual character designs and amazing acting from Blanc as a hysterical Daffy recounts the events of last night’s party at the breakfast table.

Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears
Bear Feat

The three bears are favorites because their world is so perverse and dark. The design on their “cottage” in Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears is hilarious. Strewn with pornography and graffiti – and Momma Bear’s disgusting attempts to seduce Bugs.

Bear Feat has the wonderful moment of Junior excitedly rushing to join his Pa in a stunt and nonchalantly consuming a whole wheel of cheese on his way. Also Ma and Junior’s emotionless walk, hand in hand, to the cottage and then back out to the payoff of still screwing up Pa’s landing. And is there blacker piece of comedy than Pa’s attempted suicide and Junior’s rescue?

Rabbit Hood

I love the Sheriff of Nottingham because he seems a couple notches more intelligent than Bugs’s usual foes. When Bugs pulls his “The King approaches!” gag the second time the Sheriff assures us he won’t be fooled twice. But Bugs won’t let it drop and you can see the mental calculations running through the Sheriff’s mind as he begins to drip with sweat – he even admits he knows he shouldn’t but he can’t do anything else – and in his situation we have to admit we’d do the same. Also the Sheriff’s dawning realization, after building half of his dream house in the King’s rose garden, of the extent of the con Bugs has run on him. Blanc has Bugs doing two separate English accents in this; both hilarious. And Bugs baking an entire cake for the Sheriff to fall in is another highlight. All of the animation and design is Jones’s crew at their best – making it all look effortless.

Roadrunner & Wile E. Coyote

Like most of the other commentators here I’m at a loss to actually distinguish one cartoon in particular. But I say this is a point in favor of this series and not against it, as they are all nearly perfect.

Bully for Bugs
Duck Amuck
The Duck, Rabbit, Duck trilogy
Rabbit of Seville
Hair-Raising Hare
Hillbilly Hare
Robin Hood Daffy
Duck Dodgers in the 24th 1/2 Century
Haredevil Hare
Dripalong Daffy
The Midnight in the Bookstore series
I’ve Gotta Sing A Torch Song
Fresh Fish
Detouring America
Land of the Midnight Fun
High Note
Feed the Kitty
Page Miss Glory
She Was An Acrobat’s Daughter
A Day at the Zoo

David

my favorite, Hare Brush.

RODAN

OKAY,

Everyone has a list as long as my arm…but if I were in a burning film vault and could only grab one…or maybe two….

How about that cartoon where the Coyote falls off the 1000 foot cliff and blows himself up with dynamite?

For real, I don’t recall the name, but the Road Runner cartoon with the flying darts. It either introduced the running gag to the vocabulary of the RR cartoon or was the best running gag of the lot or maybe both.

Or the one with the indestructible steel ball? Chuck Jones said that if the RR series would have continued, it would have produced an episode that just had one long gag. This is as close as we got to this that circumstance had allowed. Plus even an indestructible steel ball, plus one could imagine the Coyote contents, was getting pretty ragged by the end of that cartoon.

Patrick

Great Piggy bank Robbery
Baby Bottleneck
Porky in Wackyland
Corny Concerto
Various Marvin the Martian Ones
For Scentimental Reasons
Hareway to the stars
Dover Boys
Rocket Squad
The Bugs Bunny one with the song “Oh we’re the boys of chorus… we hope you like our show…”
Rabbit of Seville

Although I already listed what is at least my top ten favorites on the “100 Greatest Looney Tunes” page, I’d also like to explain why they’re my favorites and why I feel should be among those to make the final cut. I have a lot of other favorites beside those I listed too actually and would’ve gone further listing 50, but there are still some that I’ve never seen at all and others I haven’t seen in a long time (the first time when viewing them on Youtube and Dailymotion in a while or newly), and those I can remember from the titles what the shorts were about, and others I can’t so much. That’s why I’m settling for a top ten instead. From what I’ve read about some, certain ones, I didn’t list the most obvious and popular choices either and I tend to pay more attention and show more interest in the least of both for the underrated ones. Anyway, here’s my list again, this time with reasons why I chose them as the first 10 among my favorites:

1. Injun Trouble (1969): The grand finale Cool Cat, Merrie Melody, W7 Arts Productions and “classic-era” Warner Bros. cartoon that’s often overlooked because of it being banned except on bootleg which makes it the biggest rarity and so few people and fans know about well. To me, this is definitely among the most interesting and funniest, I agree. I still love it despite the American Indian stereotypical portrayals/depictions and racy joke, I think its still much more tame compared to Scalp Trouble and the remake Slightly Daffy. The revolving around gags and puns on Native Americans (or nearly anyone/anything else for that matter) is a great way to go out and I’m not sure if this is the only all-jokes Warners short ever made or if this could be even considered just the definitive jokes-incorporated Warners short. If there aren’t any others like it, then this falls into the latter. I wish this were released on DVD already so I could buy and own this short which would be a part of it. If I were Native American or even partly, it wouldn’t offend me at all because I know the stereotypes aren’t necessarily true nor true about everybody in any race/ethnicity. Even though I see why they may bother some, they should just be looked passed and ignored because we know they’re nothing but misconceptions.

DaVon M. Walker

2. Dough For The Do-Do: I like Porky In Wackyland equally, but I most likely favor this one over the black-and-white version simply because it’s the colorized remake. I wish Yo-Yo (the dodo, he finally has a name now) appeared in film more often, because he is one of my favorite Looney Tunes characters who is underused (yet we got to see his son, Go-Go, often on Tiny Toon Adventures and ironically his father never made a single episode appearance on there). Another innovative and imaginative WB short, complete with the Salvador Dali-esque inspired landscape of Wackyland and all, both versions of the cartoon are what I consider and describe to be the definitive, signature and ultimate Looney Tune/Merrie Melody short revolving around surrealistic humor on which the focal point here is based. This also is top-notch in its reference to Warner’s usual routines of using (what at the time may have been) unconventional comical devices and techniques.
3. Who’s Who In The Zoo: What I consider to be the sequel/successor to A Day At The Zoo, which premiered three years earlier. From the time I was little, I’ve always been fascinated with animals and if I had an occupation that involved them right now, I’d be a biologist, but nothing too dangerous and that requires being around them though like a wrangler, animal trainer and zookeeper. A gag-centric cartoon about the animal kingdom, I think this one is just as good as the other. But the highlight has to be with the lion and ice cream man.
4. A Day At The Zoo: The other animal kingdom cartoon. My favorite parts would have to be with the Alcatraz jailbird and stool pigeon, the sub-plot (I guess I could call it) with Egghead constantly taunting the lion, and the scene with the wildcat. All the puns on the animal names and others is just as good as it gets.
5. The Dover Boys: I find it to be an intriguing short, though the highlight has to be with Dan Backslide as the comedic villain. If this wasn’t just a one-off short, then I wonder what more could’ve possibly been done with the starring characters and others.
6. Johnny Smith and Poker-Huntas: Another somewhat politically incorrect cartoon about American Indians, but regardless this is one of my top favorites involving them (the others are Sioux Me and 1969’s Injun Trouble). American history with a twist that’s turned topsy-turvy, I love it. My favored scenes have to be with the Native Americans’ neighborhood, when Poker-Huntas saves Johnny (a.k.a. Egghead) and the chase after them.
7. Porky Pig’s Feat: I remember this WB short very well from having used to watch it all the time on one of my VHS tapes with Looney Tunes/Merry Melodies shorts on them. I first saw the black-and-white version on it long before the colored one on Youtube only a few days ago. I concur that this has to be amongst the greatest Porky and Daffy shorts ever. Plus, it has got to be one of the most hilarious as well, specifically with Rose Pierre bouncing and falling down a flight of stairs, Daffy and Porky’s escape-from-the-hotel-attempt on the makeshift rope and Bugs’ cameo at the end. Total all-around randomness.
8. Daffy Duck and Egghead: Daffy’s second appearance, especially in his early design. One reason I favor this is because of Daffy’s introductory song he sings to the tune of The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down in the middle. My others are the parts where Egghead tries to shoot the apple on Daffy’s head but keeps missing his target, then Daffy puts the sunglasses and a sign that reads “blind” on Egghead and when Egghead gets tricked at the end by both Daffy and the nut house/orderly duck. Here, it’s one of the cartoons with Daffy at his Daffiest before he took a turn for the worse in most of his ’60s shorts with Speedy Gonzalez.
9. Bugged By A Bee: Cool Cat is my most favorite WB character introduced in the late ’60s and he may be forgotten to some, but he isn’t to/for me. I remember watching most of his shorts that aired on Nickelodeon back in the ’90s. Although I forgot what one particular one was about and how it went exactly (his debut in his own self-titled one), reading about it really jogged my memory and reminded me thanks to Wikipedia. Three others prior to the last two I can’t remember, so I recall Cool Cat more than his cartoons. Anyway, this is half of the two final, classic-era, WB shorts of which he had the honor and distinction of starring. This should be included due to the whole scenario of a pesky bee disrupting and getting in the way of Cool Cat’s college sports activities, yet conversely helps him on the road to victory, only for the bee to become the honoree in the end instead. And it’s been proclaimed to be one of the best out of all of Cool Cat’s shorts and it’s a WB short that’s more deserving of some attention then some certain, overrated, others.
10. Elmer’s Candid Camera: This marks Elmer Fudd’s debut and the first that has him sharing screen time with Happy Rabbit/Bugs Bunny. I like this one because of how the rabbit is such an inciter and a nuisance to Elmer when all he’s trying to do is take pictures with ease and in peace. The best is when Elmer finally snaps and ends up in the river, nearly drowning, then after being rescued by Happy and seemingly checking to see if he was alright, Elmer then gets kicked back into the water, very funny.

Sorry I didn’t finish my last comments, but I had to stop and take time off for lunch. And this is all that I have to say about my favorites. However, I so hope you’ll contemplate including the overlooked, less popular and underrated WB shorts on the list/ in the book, because they deserve some love too, if not more. Out of all those on my list and the classic era’s filmography, most of all, I hope Injun Trouble (1969) makes it in there at all, even if it isn’t #1 and I’d still be grateful for that. Hopefully my suggestions will be considered, even though I know the “100 Greatest Looney Tunes” article is over 3 months old now and I haven’t seen the official list yet. Therefore, I’m glad I didn’t really miss out on this opportunity and it’s no true loss.

Maggie Simpson

My personal favorite is Bugs Bunny, not because he’s Bugs Bunny. Look up the following on YouTube:

-“Any Bonds Today?”- uncensored

-“Hare Conditioned”-my favorite

-“Hare Tonic”-see the spots!

Oh, and look up Book Revue. A Clampett classic…

LaraP

Duck Dodgers and One Froggy Evening. My absolute, all-time, keep coming back to them time and time again, favorites. Sadly, Duck Dodgers is not even in the TOP 10 on this list: